The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is the seventh episode of the ninth season of LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: Masters of Friendship, and the 136th episode overall. The episode is based on LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu episode of the same name and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode Sounds of Silence. Fluttershy and Applejack journey to the edge of the map on a friendship quest to help a group of ponies called Kirin, who are so afraid of hurting each other's feelings that they've taken a vow of silence. Lloyd turns the tables on Harumi to take the Overlord's power away, and the Ninja learn what it takes to be a Dragon Hunter. Plot Finding the other side of Generosity The episode begins with a flashback song on how Rarity earns her cutie mark. When she was a filly, she was put in charge of costumes during a school play. The day before the performance, her teacher calls them "very nice," but they aren't good enough for Rarity; they need to be spectacular. In her workroom, Rarity tries every trick she knows, but the costumes won't work. She wonders if her dream of being a fashion designer is dissolving before her very eyes. Her horn begins to glow brightly and drags her to a desolate, rocky area, right into a large boulder. She is less than pleased at the possibility that a rock might have to do with her destiny and yells at her horn. She is interrupted by an explosive rainbow ring, exactly like the one that Fluttershy witnessed. The shock waves split the boulder, revealing a cavity filled with multicolored gems. On the night of the performance, the dancers wear dazzling gem-studded dresses. Rarity's inspiration, not to mention her new ability to track hidden gems, gives her a cutie mark of three blue diamonds. Once Green, Always Green When she was captured by the Resistance, Harumi laughs and states that the tables have turned. Dareth informs Lloyd that they have her and ask what's the next plan. Nya suggests using her to free their friends for trading her. Lloyd tells her that the Overlord doesn't care about anyone, just more power. He tells Nya and Dareth that the Overlord won't free their friends just for Harumi. Harumi informs Lloyd that her generals have been to their location before, and says it won't be too long before they find her. Dareth states that she's correct and hope Lloyd has another plan. Skylor and Mistaké comes and say that they've found something from Harumi. Harumi then starts to squirm and grunt, and Nya volunteers to watch her. Mistaké tells him that they found the Oni Mask of Hatred. Skylor suggests that if Lloyd's power don't return then it might help him. Mistaké warns Lloyd about the dangers of using the mask. Skylor asks for his choice of using it. Lloyd goes back in and throws it in front of Harumi. Harumi asks him is he's going to steal it. Lloyd states that it's a trap and that she wanted to be captured. Harumi, knowing he was correct, says that if she can't trick him she will just deliver a message. She states that the Overlord will destroy them all, and tells Lloyd that he can't defeat him, and can never change. Dareth blurts that she doesn't know Lloyd. Harumi insists that she does and asks them how they see this ending. She says there isn't a happy ending, and once green is always green. Lloyd and the others gaze at each other, confused by Harumi's words. The Peaks of Peril At the Castle of Friendship, the Cutie Map has summoned Applejack and Fluttershy for their second friendship mission after their previous mission to Las Pegasus. This time, the Map is sending the two to a remote location in Equestria called the Peaks of Peril. Starlight Glimmer explains that the Peaks are inhabited by a race of kind and honest creatures called Kirin and frightening monsters of living fire called Nirik. Despite Fluttershy's reservations about going, Applejack is certain that they can solve whatever friendship problem they have been summoned for. When Applejack and Fluttershy arrive at the Peaks of Peril train station, a deranged ticket-selling pony warns them that only uncharted territory and wild beasts await them beyond the station. Applejack wants to reach the top of the Peaks as soon as possible, which involves trekking through miles of hazardous terrain, but Fluttershy stops to interact with the local animals. After a brief breakdown in communication, Fluttershy shows Applejack a shortcut through the mountains that the animals told her about. Applejack and Fluttershy end up in a small village where they encounter the pony-like Kirin. However, when they try to communicate, the Kirin are completely silent and expressionless, responding only to yes-or-no questions. Unable to figure out what the friendship problem is, Applejack asks if there's anyone in the area that she can talk to, and the Kirin point her on a path leading out of the village. Applejack decides to investigate while Fluttershy stays in the village to try and get more information from the Kirin. The not-so silent Kirin On the outskirts of the Kirin village, Applejack runs into yet another Kirin. She gets frustrated when this Kirin appears just as silent as the others, but the Kirin is revealed to actually be very talkative. Excited to finally be able to talk to someone, the Kirin introduces herself as Autumn Blaze and takes Applejack to her small cottage home that oversees the entire mountain range. She states that she hasn't talked to anyone ever since she and her fellow Kirin took a vow of silence. Through song, Autumn Blaze explains that the Kirin were once very sociable creatures that loved to talk, sing, and tell jokes. However, a fight broke out between two Kirin one day, and hurtful words were exchanged. The two Kirin's bodies were ignited in fire by their anger, and their arguing quickly spread to the rest of the village, causing everything to go up in flames. To prevent this from happening again, the village leader Rain Shine ordered the Kirin to step through the Stream of Silence, suppressing their voices and emotions. Though the village was rebuilt and peace was restored, Autumn Blaze grew bored of the endless silence. One day, she stumbled into a bed of foal's-breath flowers, and she brewed them into a tea that restored her ability to speak. Once again able to express herself vocally, she tried numerous times to talk to her friends, but they rejected her. Rain Shine eventually forced Autumn Blaze to choose between staying with the Kirin in silence or keeping her voice and leaving the village, and Autumn chose to leave. Applejack, shocked to learn that the Kirin suppressed their emotions just to avoid hurting each other, realizes this is the friendship problem that she and Fluttershy were summoned to solve. She decides to talk to the Kirin and convince them to restore their voices and let Autumn Blaze return to the village, but Autumn says she used all the foal's-breath flowers to restore her own voice and no new flowers have grown since then. Applejack promises to solve this dilemma and heads back to the village. Anger or emotionless Back at the Kirin village, Applejack regroups with Fluttershy, who has also figured out what the friendship problem is. Fluttershy explains much of what Applejack already found out from Autumn Blaze: the Kirin are usually kind and peaceful, but when they lose their temper, they transform into Nirik—creatures of fire and pure rage. Applejack thinks the Kirin shouldn't stop communicating just to avoid hurting each other's feelings, but Fluttershy thinks they should or else they'll risk destroying their village again and endangering the surrounding forests and animals. Like earlier, Applejack and Fluttershy's disagreement turns into a loud argument, drawing the attention of the Kirin. Fearing their arguing could result in the village's destruction again, the Kirin seize Applejack and Fluttershy and carry them toward the Stream of Silence in order to silence their voices and emotions as well. Before they can do so, Autumn Blaze appears and defends Applejack and Fluttershy in her Nirik form. Fluttershy is surprised that a Kirin has learned to control their anger, and Autumn Blaze says having emotions is not dangerous—what matters is what one does with them. Autumn addresses her old friends and mentions the laughs and songs they used to share. Applejack and Fluttershy agree that giving up one's emotions just to avoid feeling anger is no way to live and that friends can argue from time to time as long as they don't let it get in the way of their friendship. Time to Rise Up! The scene then switches back over to the other realm, and it shows the Dragon Hunters looking for the Marooned Ninja. Iron Baron asks Jet Jack why have they stopped there. She says that the Ninja have crossed into Oni Land, and that the Baron told them not to cross that line. He says that he see that his enemies have crossed it. The Dragon Hunters all wait on Iron Baron's next command. He states that Heavy Metal betrayed him and says that no one betrays him. He tells them they are crossing the line. The Hunters then make their move and cross into Oni land. Faith wakes up the Ninja while Celestia raises the Sun, and Jay complains about not having breakfast, and that breakfast is the most important meal. Faith says that they are getting close to Firstbourne's Nest, and they will eat after Wu has the Dragon Armor and they are in Ninjago, which she still pronounces incorrectly. Zane wakes up, corrects her pronunciation, and states that it's not hard to say. Kai wakes up and says that it would be nice to be in a real bed. Jay says that it would be nice to have real food to eat. Cole wakes up and wishes for cake, and asks why he ever gave up eating cake. Jay reminds him that his body is a temple. Faith then ask what is cake, and they tell her imagine it and explains it to her. She says that Cole sounds excited about cake, but asks him is he ready for what lies ahead. Cadance and Twilight wake up and reminisce how Wu will able to get the Dragon Armor before they go back to Equestria. Luna wakes up and ask Celestia how difficult to be awake while in this forbidden land, meaning that she will change her sleep cycle when she is back in Equestria. Zane gets up and recalls what Faith explained about the Firstbourne waiting for the arrival First Spinjitzu Master. He says that with Wu being his son means a good thing. Faith expresses her concern if it's not like that. She adds that coming face to face with the dragons is one thing, but the mother of them all is different. She says the chains is the only thing for survival and gives the chain gun to Kai. Faith gives the Ninja and the Alicorn princesses how to chain the dragons and defend the Hunters through song. She orders him to chain a rock boulder. Kai gets cocky and overconfident and shoots it incorrectly. He ends up chaining Cole with his progress. Jay laughs at the misfortune and jokes that at least you got the Master of Rock. Kai tells Jay and Faith that it's harder than it looks. Faith then gets the other Ninja and the Princesses to practice chaining the rocks. Kai challenges the team that whoever chains the rock first will win. Kai, Cole, Jay, Twilight, Cadance and Celestia all miss, but Zane chains the rock on the first try and he asks if he won. Luna also chains a rock on a first try, resulting her scream of excitement, until Faith tells her to be quiet. Kai and Jay say that they had no idea he was competing. Jay and Cole continue to miss and Kai finally chains the rock, and it sends himself flying into the rock as well. Celestia and Cadance also miss but Twilight managed to chain the rock on the first try, without using magic. Faith tells Wu to try also, and his chain fails to come out the gun. Cole, Kai and Jay laugh at him, until Faith says no one stops until everyone can do it. Kai, Wu, Cole, Jay, Celestia, Cadance and Twilight continues to try to chain the rock. Cole, Kai, Jay, Twilight, Celestia and Cadance finally chain the rock together. Wu attempts to do it again and fails. Once Faith tells him that it wasn't good enough he angrily quits. Kai tells the team to let him handle Wu's anger. Kai and Twilight gives Wu a pep talk about confidence and believing in himself. Both remind Wu that it was him that pushed him into a better Ninja. Wu then cheers up and chains his rock. The team notices a dragon heading their way. So they prepare to get to the dragon, so that Wu can ride it. Kai explains that they should slow the dragon down. Luna ends up chaining it, but it shocks her. They then all work together to chain the dragon. Wu then climbs the chain, and rides on its back. The dragon eventually escapes the chain and shakes Wu off its back. Cole shouts for Wu and Faith catches him in her ride. Wu expresses his excitement of riding the dragon. Faith tells him that he might not be ready to ride Firstbourne, but he is starting to become a dragon rider. It's a double thing! Back in Ninjago, Lloyd and Nya are seen with their Ninja suits again on the rooftop of their temporary base. Lloyd tells Nya that Harumi's words gave him something to think about. He challenges her word and goes with Skylor's words about changing in order to defeat his father. He says that he is ready to accept his powers are forever gone. Lloyd also follows the wisdom words of Mistaké as well. Nya expresses her concern about Lloyd going after the Overlord due to the Colossus. Lloyd comes up with a plan about not being scared of it, but controlling it. Dareth states that it is controlled by the Overlord's power. Skylor tells them that she can absorb it by only touching him. Lloyd says that she'll be a prisoner and Mistaké can get her close by being a "mole." Dareth says that he loves when a plan comes together. The scene goes back to the tied up Harumi. Lloyd, Nya, and Skylor comes in and introduces Harumi to "herself". Harumi wiggles and shouts that Mistaké only thinks can pass as her. Mistaké repeats after Harumi, but Nya adds that her voice may give her away. Mistaké then fixes her voice to sound exactly like Harumi. Harumi says that she'll never get away with impersonating her. Nya runs towards Harumi and puts a gag over her mouth to shut her up. Nya tells her it's time for her to face the corner and be quiet. Harumi starts mumbling and Nya turns her chair. Lloyd then goes over their plan. Skylor asks if Lloyd is okay with staying back, and he says he'll be okay when it is all over. Dareth says that for the first time, he feels it's going to work. Lloyd agrees with him and tells him not to jinx it. Operation: Firstbourne's Nest Back in the First Realm, Faith goes over the map and plans to get the Dragon Armor. She realizes that they were followed. The group gets on their rides and starts to escape. Iron Baron shouts that he wants Heavy Metal alive, but for as the rest....their heads. The Dragon Hunters pursue the team as they get away. Wu tells them to go for the cave. Jet Jack eventually catches up to them, and she realizes Heavy Metal is a female like her. Faith says that she's not like Jet Jack, but is better than her. The Ninja and the Princesses manage to defeat the Hunters, but Faith was captured. In Ninjago, Harumi broke free and tied up Dareth in her place. Meanwhile, Mistaké and Skylor went to Borg Tower for their plan. The Sons of the Overlord were suspicious when "Harumi" didn't mention Skylor can copy powers. When she tried to convince them that she didn't need to tell him, the real Harumi interrupts them. Breaking the silence Convinced by Applejack and Fluttershy's words, one of the Kirin gestures that she wants the cure that gave Autumn Blaze her voice back, but Applejack says there aren't any foal's-breath flowers left to brew the cure. Luckily, one of the squirrels that Fluttershy met earlier tells her it knows where to find more foal's-breath. It guides Applejack and Fluttershy back to the base of the mountain, where the animals are using foal's-breath for their dens. Applejack apologizes to Fluttershy for getting upset with her earlier, pointing out that her kindness toward the animals helped them find the flowers. Fluttershy points out, however, that Applejack's honesty with the Kirin led to them seeking out the flowers in the first place. The two make amends for their earlier arguments. Applejack and Fluttershy bring the flowers back to the Kirin village, and Autumn Blaze drops the flowers into the Kirin's drinking water. Upon drinking the water, the Kirin are cured of their silence and able to speak again. Rain Shine thanks Autumn Blaze for helping her and the other Kirin realize anger is a natural part of who they are, and she invites Autumn to move back into the village. Overjoyed, Autumn Blaze sings a reprise of her song from earlier, and Applejack and Fluttershy's cutie marks glow to indicate their friendship mission is a success. Cast *Applejack - Ashleigh Ball *Arkade - Michael Donovan *Autumn Blaze - Rachel Bloom *Cole - Kirby Morrow *Daddy No Legs - Ian James Corlett *Dareth - Alan Marriott *Fluttershy - Andrea Libman *Faith - Kathleen Barr *Harumi - Britt McKillip *Iron Baron - Brian Drummond *Jay - Michael Adamthwaite *Jet Jack - Rhona Rees *Kai - Vincent Tong *Killow - Garry Chalk *Kirin 1 - Ashleigh Ball *Kirin 2 - Andrea Libman *Lloyd - Sam Vincent *Mistaké - Tabitha St. Germain *Muzzle - Brent Miller *Nya - Kelly Metzger *Princess Cadance - Britt McKillip *Princess Celestia - Nicole Oliver *Princess Luna - Tabitha St. Germain (Aloma Steele as her singing voice) *Rain Shine - Nicole Bouma *Rarity - Kazumi Evans *Skylor - Heather Doerksen *Son of the Overlord - Paul Dobson *Starlight Glimmer - Kelly Sheridan *The Overlord - Scott McNeil *Ticket Taker Pony - Ron Halder *Twilight Sparkle - Tara Strong (Rebecca Shoichet as her singing voice) *Ultra Violet - Maggie Blue O'Hara *Wu - Paul Dobson *Zane - Brent Miller Transcript *The Weakest Link (transcript) Locations Visited *Ninjago **Ninjago City ***Borg Tower *Equestria **Ponyville ***Castle of Friendship ***Carousel Boutique (flashback) **The Peaks of Peril *Realm of Oni and Dragons Differences between this episode, the original Ninjago episode and MLP episode "Sounds of Silence" *Starlight Glimmer was absent in the original MLP episode. *Twilight and Kai cheer Wu up, instead of Kai himself. Songs *The Other Side *Rise Up! *A Kirin Tale Trivia *Starting from this episode, the Hasbro Studios logo at the end of the closing credits is replaced by the new Allspark Animation logo, throughout the rest of Season 9, until the end of Season 11. *The music playing during the Marooned Ninja's training with grapple guns was the same one used in "Cutie Markless - Part 1" when the Ninja bend the rules to promote Steep Wisdom and in "To Where and Back Again: Operation Land Ho!", when Jay recruits Ninja Replacements. *Dareth listens to The Weekend Whip on his headphones while guarding Harumi. *Lloyd wears his Green Ninja gi again this episode after previously having burnt it, implying he owns multiple copies of the same suit. *Lloyd refusing to wear the Mask of Hatred for power due to corruption is the opposite reciprocal to Season 4 when Kai used the Staff of Elements to overpower Chen's army, who got corrupted by the staff briefly turning evil. *This episode marks the first appearance of the Kirins. *It is the third episode to have a reprise closer after The Success Song and Life in Equestria; and the sixth to close an episode after Love Is In Bloom, Success Song, Life in Equestria, Let the Rainbow Remind You, and Friends Are Always There For You. *This is the final episode where Harumi is referred to as the "Quiet One". Errors *Dareth is seen in his disguised clothing instead of his casual clothing after Lloyd comes in to help him. Gallery The_Weakest_Link_Title_Card.png|Title card